Nonprofits hope to save Valley Road School building, Princeton officials say they can't control its fate

The old Valley Road School building in Princeton. Andrew Miller/ The Times of Trenton

PRINCETON — The town council has no control whatsoever over what the board of education does with the historic Valley Road School building on Witherspoon Street, officials told petitioners tonight.

Two groups interested in saving the building — The Valley Road School Community Center Inc., a nonprofit; and the Valley Road Adaptive Reuse Committee — petitioned for a referendum in November that would force council to negotiate with the school board to save the property.

Built in 1924, the building is owned by the board of education and was long-used as a school. Now vacant, the building has at least four groups interested in what happens to it: the nonprofit, the citizen’s group, the school board, and the municipality, to a lesser extent.

Members of the nonprofit said they hope to acquire the property through a community partnership with a 100-year lease at $1 a year and convert the school building into community center.

“The signatures largely speak for themselves,” former township mayor Dick Woodbridge said. “There is an overwhelming sentiment in the community that the building should be preserved and rehabilitated.”

Woodbridge and other representatives for the group told council that for $3.9 million they could create a space that could include two small theaters for dramatic arts, a cafe and affordable offices for local nonprofits.

But questions have been raised in the past by town and board of education officials about whether the group could raise enough money for the project.

School board President Tim Quinn said that the board rejected the group’s proposal earlier this year partly because it “failed to credibly demonstrate that it could secure funding for its proposal, despite having many years to do so.”

But the petitioners said the signatures demonstrated they had all the community support they needed.

“We have a lot of people who are willing to give money for a community center which would be in the middle of town and whose members would continue to enrich and serve this community,” Claire Jacobus said.

Despite that, town attorney Ed Schmierer said that he’s not confident the municipality could place a question about the school on the ballot.

“This municipal corporation has no ability to compel the owner of the property to do anything,” he said.

Quinn agreed. “This council can no more overrule lawful decisions of the board of education, or dictate to the board what to do with its buildings, than the board of education can dictate to this council how to operate or dispose of Witherspoon Hall, the Monument Building ... or any other property to which the municipality holds title,” he said.

The petitioners said they will try to work with the town’s attorney on the issue.

“I hope this is an overture to have some discussions to get into this,” Woodbridge said.

Yet the municipality has its own ideas for what could be done with the structure, or at least the land it sits on.

Earlier this year a council task force was formed to figure out how the plot of land could play into the town’s plans to expand its firehouse next door. The current fire station isn’t large enough to house the three volunteer Princeton fire companies that recently consolidated into the Witherspoon location.

Councilman Lance Liverman, who serves on the task force, said earlier yesterday that a specific plan has not yet been developed, but that the town is only interested in using the land — not the school building.

“If for whatever the reason the school board decides to tear down the building and if it’s available next door to us, we’d love to use it,” he said.

Town officials say they hope to have a plan in front of the school board this fall.

Council also heard plans last night to build a 9/11 memorial at Monument Drive using a piece of steel from the fallen World Trade Center buildings.